Archive for the ‘Awards, Grants, and Scholarships (HSLI)’ Category

Applications are now being accepted for the Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship. The scholarship, named in honor of dedicated HSLI member Syed Maghrabi (1945-2000), supports Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) members’ participation in the HSLI annual conference. The scholarship will provide reimbursement for a free 2017 HSLI conference registration and one night at the conference hotel. To apply, the applicant must be a current member of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (2017 dues paid) and write a brief essay explaining why she or he is interested in receiving the scholarship. Recipients are responsible for registering and making hotel arrangements on their own. After the conference, each recipient will write an article for the HSLI Newsletter blog, explaining how she or he plans to professionally apply the knowledge gained at the conference.

Applications are due: September 13th

Please fill out the application form and submit to Miranda Shake, HSLI President. More information about previous scholarship recipients and about librarian Syed Maghrabi (1945-2000) after whom the scholarship was named can be found at the HSLI site.

More information about the 2017 HSLI conference October 25-27, Bloomington, IL) can be found at the conference website.

I’d like to start by thanking all the generous people that have donated to the Syed Maghrabi scholarship fund. Your donations via the membership form and through the silent auction are a lifeline to HSLI members lacking institutional travel support. The fund exists to keep everyone actively involved in the organization. Don’t let lack of travel funds keep you at home! Apply for a scholarship if you don’t have institutional support.

For many years I have served on the HSLI conference planning committee. This year you may have seen me serving as the A/V elf. And we learned that while I’m good with projectors, sound systems are not my strong suit. Apologies for the squealing feedback. Either I’ll get better next year or we will contract with the hotel for house sound.

I also helped with behind the scenes work, running the conference website. Thanks to all presenters that sent in their handouts and posters. I also ran the conference evaluation, and I’m happy to say that everyone rated the conference Excellent or Good. It’s great to see that the work of putting the conference together is valuable to the HSLI membership.

The CE sessions I attended on user experience and assessment were very helpful to me. Both altered how I think about my library, which for me is the sign of a great CE session. Once I got home I summarized the parts of the sessions that were most pertinent to my library’s situation and shared them with my colleagues. Being able to bring new strategies home is one of the best parts of CE for me.

Networking is another critical part of the HSLI conference experience. Hearing stories from other librarians about the state of their nursing programs gives me insight and perspective when working with my own nursing faculty. Being able to see everyone in person once a year also helps when we need to reach out to colleagues. It’s great to be able to put a face with a name when we need to ask a question or put something on the list to get advice.

I was also happy to see so much networking between library organizations this year. Presentations and exhibits from RAILS, IHLS, the GMR, IACRL, and the State Library were a welcome opportunity to learn about what other groups offer. After the conference, HSLI was also invited to provide updates to CARLI and CARLI will provide updates to HSLI as well. I’ve added links to all these organizations on an HSLI website page.

I hope everyone that attended the conference found it as productive as I did, and I hope everyone that was unable to attend in 2016 can join us in 2017.

I would like to thank the Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship Committee for granting me a full scholarship to attend the 2016 Health Science Librarians of Illinois Annual Conference. My involvement with HSLI has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career, and attending the conference is one of the highlights of my participation in the organization. The event gives me an opportunity not only to strengthen and expand my connections with fellow HSLI members, but also to learn about new perspectives and tools in the library and information science profession. I am especially appreciative of the opportunity to receive a scholarship for this year’s conference, given the challenging economic times facing the state of Illinois. HSLI’s ongoing generosity (I received the scholarship in 2011 and 2014, also) clearly demonstrates the organization’s commitment to the professional growth of its members.

I found all of the sessions at this year’s conference interesting and engaging. There were a few that particularly stood out, however, as providing ideas for my work as Interlibrary Loan Librarian at the Illinois State Library. One was Jacqueline Leskovec’s “Getting Started with Information Outreach in Your Community”. The focus of the presentation was the ways in which libraries can reach out to underserved patron groups. While the State Library’s main user group is state government employees, the ISL provides a variety of services, including interlibrary loan, to libraries of all types throughout the state, in addition to sponsoring programs for members of the general public, such as veterans. Through discussions with fellow attendees and feedback from the presenter, I identified several groups that do not use the ISL regularly but could clearly benefit. One is local high school students, especially those who are researching current issues related to local, state, or federal government. Another is tourists, who sometimes stop by the ISL to learn more about the various historical sites in and around downtown Springfield. The ISL has a large number of items, including historical documents, that would likely be of interest to those groups and could perhaps be part of a display in the public browsing areas.

Another session that I found particularly thought-provoking was Laura Alagna’s keynote speech, “From Surviving to Thriving in the Digital Era”. Her talk explored the impact of the digital revolution on the role of librarians, especially in managing and preserving electronic resources. As libraries continue to downsize their print collections, while expanding patron access to e-books and online journals, librarians must increasingly adapt their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the preservation of electronic materials has now extended not just to items that were originally in a print format and have since been digitized, but also to documents that were “born digital” and so present their own unique set of preservation challenges. I have not been directly involved with the digital preservation efforts in which the State Library has participated recently, but I have had an opportunity to learn much about them while searching for documents. One initiative is the Illinois Digital Archives (IDA), which contains digital materials related to Illinois history from libraries throughout the state. These items include not just photographs, but also letters, maps, and videos. Another project is a collaboration, with HathiTrust and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to digitize copies of books and other documents by Illinois authors and make them available in the public domain. This includes not just “classic” works, but also more recent materials.

Once again, I would like to thank the Scholarship Committee, along with those individuals who have donated to the fund. I greatly enjoyed this year’s HSLI Annual Conference, and I am confident that some of the ideas presented by the speakers will prove useful in my work. I look forward to future HSLI conferences and the variety of interesting speakers and other learning opportunities that they are sure to include.

Applications are now being accepted for the Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship, for the 2016 Health Science Librarians of Illinois Conference. The scholarship provides up to $320.00 in reimbursements for conference registration and one night at the conference hotel. Recipients are responsible for registering and making hotel arrangements on their own. To apply, one must be a current member of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (2016 dues paid) and write a brief essay explaining why she or he is interested in receiving the scholarship. (There is no set length.) After the conference, each recipient will write an article for the HSLI Newsletter blog, explaining how she or he plans to apply the knowledge gained at the conference to one’s own institution.

All applications must be received by the end of business on Tuesday, October 11. The form is available here. Winners will be notified by Friday, October 14. Completed applications may be sent either via e-mail, to mshake@lakeviewcol.edu, or by snail mail to Miranda Shake, Lakeview College of Nursing, 903 N. Logan Ave. in Danville, IL, 61832. Any questions should be directed to Miranda Shake.

Applications are now being accepted for the Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship. The scholarship provides up to $320.00 in reimbursements for conference registration and one night at the conference hotel. Recipients are responsible for registering and making hotel arrangements on their own. To apply, one must be a current member of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (2016 dues paid) and write a brief essay explaining why she or he is interested in receiving the scholarship. (There is no set length.) After the conference, each recipient will write an article for the HSLI Newsletter blog, explaining how she or he plans to apply the knowledge gained at the conference to one’s own institution.

All applications must be received by the end of business on Tuesday, October 11. The form is available here. Winners will be notified by Friday, October 14. Completed applications may be sent either via e-mail, to mshake@lakeviewcol.edu, or by snail mail to Miranda Shake, Lakeview College of Nursing, 903 N. Logan Ave in Danville, IL, 61832. Any questions should be directed to Miranda Shake.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2017 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) preservation awards. ALCTS presents three Preservation Awards, through its Preservation and Reformatting Section, to honor individuals whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service in preservation or to support a new preservation staff member’s participation in preservation activities at the ALA Annual Conference.

If you are interested in nominating a candidate for the awards, contact the chair of that award jury. The deadline for nominations and supporting materials is Thursday, December 1.

Banks/Harris Preservation Award

The Award, which consists of $1,500 and a citation is given to a professional preservation specialist who has been active in the field of preservation or conservation for library or archival materials. Winners will be chosen based on leadership in professional associations, contributions to the development and utilization of new or improved preservation methods, and significant contribution to professional literature and preservation training. Send a formal statement of nomination providing a strong rationale for why the person merits the award, along with supporting materials, to Stephanie Lamson, Chair, Banks/Harris Jury. Visit the Banks Harris page for more information.

George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award

The George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award acknowledges and supports cooperative preservation projects and rewards individuals or groups that foster collaboration for preservation goals. Recipients of the Award demonstrate vision, endorse cooperation and advocate for the preservation of published and primary source resources that capture the richness of our cultural patrimony. The Cunha/Swartzburg Award is sponsored by Hollinger Metal Edge and includes a $1,250 grant and citation. Senda formal statement of nomination explaining the reason the nominee merits the award, along supporting materials, to Karen Kiorpes, Chair, Cunha/Swartzburg Jury. Visit the Cunha Swartzburg page for more information.

Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant

The Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant provides the recipient the opportunity to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference, in order to contribute to her or his professional development. The recipient will attend meetings and programs, and the person will be required to submit a short essay on her or his conference experience to the ALCTS News. The grant consists of a $1,250 cash grant, along with a citation to be presented at the ALCTS Awards ceremony. Nominations, including a short essay on the theme “How would receiving the Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant further your professional development goals?,” should be sent to Patricia Smith-Hunt, Chair, Grant Jury. Visit the Jan Merrill-Oldham Grant page for more information.

Join the next generation of advocates and scholars to shape the future of Open Access, Open Education, and Open Data!

Are you a librarian who’s passionate about opening up access to educational and scholarly resources? Keen on being part of a community that’s dedicated to and engaged in OA advocacy? Then OpenCon 2016 is the conference and community for you. Now in its third year, you must apply and be selected to attend OpenCon in person. (Anyone can attend remotely; satellite venues and other opportunities for virtual attendance will be announced.)

ACRL is providing scholarship funding for two librarians to attend OpenCon 2016 in Washington, DC, November 12-14. To be eligible for selection, just follow the OpenCon application process and instructions. If you are a librarian and have already applied, then great! If you are chosen to participate in OpenCon and are an ACRL member, you will be considered for an ACRL-sponsored scholarship. Your information will be conveyed to a group of ACRL member leaders for review and selection.

Besides the benefit of attending OpenCon, each recipient of the ACRL-sponsored scholarships will also be appointed for a 2-year term on ACRL’s Research and the Scholarly Environment Committee! Thus, if selected, you’ll have a chance to build on what you gained from OpenCon and contribute to scholarly communication initiatives that ACRL works on.

The application deadline is is 11:59 PST on Monday, July 11 (1:59 AM CST on July 12). Apply ASAP and have a chance to attend OpenCon on an ACRL scholarship!

First, a day-long workshop is being designed to provide professional development support to librarians who wish to know more about creating a plan to assess one particular program or service in their library. The focus is on understanding library contributions to institutional priorities for student learning and success and any aspect of the library can be the focus of inquiry. Second, the selected designer/presenters will work on a new approach that aims to support library leaders – deans and directors – in communicating about library impact with campus decision makers through a half-day guided discussion format. Both of these new events will be piloted in conjunction with the ACRL 2017 conference. Online content will be created to complement these two in person events and may include stand-alone webinars as well.

Find out more about qualifications and how to apply in the full call for applications.

If your library can’t afford to send you to the HSLI meeting at the “A Library State of Mind” joint conference, consider applying for the Syed Maghrabi Scholarship this year. We are offering one scholarship of $300 to a librarian in need. More information on the conference can be found here.

Please fill out the application form and submit it by Friday, October 16. The scholarship committee will review all applications and let the winner know by the end of business on Tuesday, October 20. Submission information is on the form, which can be found here.

Luggage, gift baskets, homemade jam, and other items were auctioned at Nancy’s Reception on November 13, 2014. The auction raised $265.00 to go toward the

Syed Magrabi Scholarship. This scholarship covers conference fees an lodging to allow as many people to participate in HSLI meetings as possible. If your institution no longer covers your travel, please apply for a scholarship.